MILRAM Sprinter Gerald Ciolek will be replaced by his teammate Markus Eichler

Dortmund, 12. February 2010. Team MILRAM will be at the start of the first running of the Tour of Oman (February 14-19 / UCI 2.1) this coming Sunday. Under the direction of Ralf Grabsch, the German ProTour team will look for stage wins in the challenging 687 kilometers across the east of the Arabian peninsula.
For the six-day race through the Sultanate of Oman, Grabsch will have to do without captain Gerald Ciolek, who broke his shoulder and hand in a mass crash at the Tour of Qatar. The sprinter will be replaced by his teammate Markus Eichler, who will leave for Oman after the Mallorca Challenge.

„It is always exciting to be part of a race premiere,“ said MILRAM’s Directeur Sportif, Ralf Grabsch. „We assume that the race organizers will have the same high level as at the Tour of Qatar. The stages should be rolling, and some even really mountainous. That will be good for our team and our riding style.“
The Tour of Oman is being held for the first time this year. The Tour, which is organized by the Tour of France organizer Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), follows the Tour of Qatar after one rest day. On February 14, the race starts with a opening stage of 61 kilometers in the capital of Muscat. After six stages and a total of 687.1 challenging kilometers, the race finally ends up again in the Sultanate’s capital.

Team MILRAM at the Tour of Oman:
Markus Eichler (GER/Jülich),
Wim de Vocht (BEL/Turnhout),
Roger Kluge (GER/Eisenhüttenstadt),
Servais Knaven (NED/Meerle,BEL),
Roy Sentjens (BEL/Nerpeelt),
Björn Schröder (GER/Berlin),
Niki Terpstra (NED/Haarlem),
Peter Wrolich (AUT/Klagenfurt)
Directeur Sportif: Ralf Grabsch (GER)

The stages:
14.02. Stage 1: Muscat Corniche – Muscat Corniche (61,0 km)
15.02. Stage 2: Nizwa – Samail (148,5 km)
16.02. Stage 3: Saifat Ash Shiekh – Qurayyat (124,0 km)
17.02. Stage 4: Ibri – Nakhal (187,0 km)
18.02. Stage 5: Wattayat – Sultan Qaboos Stadium (148,0 km)
19.02. Stage 6 (ITT): Al Jissah – Muscat Corniche (18,6 km)
Total distance: 687,1 km